Orlando killer appears to have been ‘homegrown extremist’
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Members of the Florida Highway Patrol continue to block Orange Avenue as other law enforcement officials confer near the Pulse Orlando nightclub this morning in Orlando, Fla.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Family members of victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting walk out of the Orlando Medical Examiner’s Office today in Orlando, Fla.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Krystle Martin cries as she speaks to the media near a makeshift memorial for the fatal shootings at Pulse Orlando nightclub today in Orlando, Fla.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Family members, center, of victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting are escorted out by volunteers as they leave a family reunification center set up at the Beardall Senior Center today in Orlando, Fla.
ORLANDO, Fla. » The gunman whose attack on a gay nightclub left 49 victims dead appears to have been a “homegrown extremist” who espoused support for a jumble of often-conflicting Islamic radical groups, the White House and the FBI said today.
As Orlando mourned its dead with flowers, candles and vigils, counterterrorism investigators dug into the background of 29-year-old Omar Mateen, the American-born Muslim who carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
“So far, we see no indication that this was a plot directed from outside the United States, and we see no indication that he was part of any kind of network,” said FBI Director James Comey. But he said Mateen was clearly “radicalized,” at least in part via the internet.
Comey said the bureau is also trying to determine whether Mateen had recently scouted Disney World as a potential target, as reported by People.com, which cited an unidentified federal law enforcement source.
“We’re still working through that,” Comey said.
The FBI chief defended the bureau’s handling of Mateen during two previous investigations into his apparent terrorist sympathies. As for whether there was anything the FBI should have done differently, “so far, the honest answer is, I don’t think so,” Comey said.
Despite Mateen’s pledge of fealty to the Islamic State, a murky combination of other possible motives and explanations emerged, with his ex-wife saying he suffered from mental illness and his Afghan-immigrant father suggesting he may have acted out of anti-gay hatred. He said his son got angry recently about seeing two men kiss.
The Orlando Sentinel and other news organizations quoted regular customers at the gay bar as saying they had seen Mateen there a number of times.
“Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent,” said Ty Smith. Smith said he saw the killer inside at least a dozen times.
Wielding an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a handgun, Mateen opened fire at Pulse Orlando early Sunday in a three-hour shooting rampage and hostage siege that ended with a SWAT team killing him. During the attack, he called 911 to profess allegiance to the Islamic State group.
At the White House, President Barack Obama said there is no clear evidence so far that Mateen was directed by the group, calling the attack an apparent example of “homegrown extremism.” Obama is traveling to Orlando on Thursday to pay his respects to the victims and stand in solidarity with the community, the White House said this evening.
More details of the bloodbath emerged, with Orlando Police Chief John Mina saying Mateen was “cool and calm” during phone calls with police negotiators. But the chief said he decided to send the SWAT team in and bash through a wall after Mateen holed up with hostages in a bathroom and began to talk about bombs and an explosive vest.
“We knew there would be an imminent loss of life,” Mina said. As it turned out, Mateen had no explosives with him.
Five of the wounded were reported in grave condition, meaning the death toll could rise. A call went out for blood donations.
In Orlando, mourners piled bouquets around a makeshift memorial, and people broke down in tears and held their hands to their faces while passing through the growing collection of flowers, candles and signs about a mile from the site of the massacre. Later Monday evening, thousands gathered near the site for a vigil held on the lawn of the Dr. Phillips Center, the area’s main performing arts venue. Many in the crowd said they were inspired to attend because Pulse played a huge role in their lives as gays and lesbians.
“It was a place that a young 20-year-old who wasn’t openly gay felt safe for the first time,” said Cathleen Daus, now 36.
About 300 employees of the Red Lobster restaurant chain — some in business suits, some in chef’s uniforms — emerged from the company’s corporate headquarters and walked two-by-two across the street to the memorial, each carrying a red or white carnation.
“We will not be defined by the act of a cowardly hater,” vowed Mayor Buddy Dyer, whose city of a quarter-million people is known around the globe as the home of Walt Disney World and other theme parks.
The tragedy hit the city’s gay and Hispanic communities especially hard. It was Latino Night at the club when the attack occurred.
“As the names come out, they are overwhelmingly Latino and Hispanic names,” said Christina Hernandez, a Hispanic activist. “These were not just victims of the LBGT community, but of the Hispanic community, as well. This was senseless bloodshed.”
Mateen’s grasp of the differences between Islamic extremist groups appeared shaky.
During three calls with 911 dispatchers, Mateen not only professed allegiance to ISIS but also expressed solidarity with a suicide bomber from the Syrian rebel group Nusra Front, and a few years ago he claimed connections to Hezbollah, too — both ISIS enemies, according to Comey.
The FBI became aware of Mateen in 2013 when co-workers reported that the private security guard claimed to have family connections to al-Qaida and to be a member of Hezbollah, too, Comey said. He was also quoted as saying he hoped that law enforcement would raid his apartment and assault his wife and child so that he could martyr himself.
The FBI launched a 10-month preliminary investigation, following Mateen, reviewing his communications and questioning him, the FBI chief said. Mateen claimed he made the remarks in anger because co-workers were teasing him and discriminating against him as a Muslim, and the FBI eventually closed the case, Comey said.
His name surfaced again as part of another investigation into the Nusra Front bomber. The FBI found Mateen and the man had attended the same mosque and knew each other casually, but the investigation turned up “no ties of any consequence,” Comey said.
Mateen was added to a terror watch list in 2013 when he was investigated, but was taken off it soon after the matter was closed, according to Comey.
People who are in that database are not automatically barred from buying guns, and in any case Mateen purchased his weapons in June, long after he was removed from the list.
On Sunday, the bloodshed started after Mateen approached the club around 2 a.m., exchanged fire with an off-duty officer working security, and then went inside and started gunning people down, police said.
After two other officers arrived and exchanged gunfire with Mateen, the gunman holed up in a restroom with about five club-goers. An additional 15 to 20 were in another nearby bathroom, authorities said.
Hostage negotiators began talking to Mateen.
After Mateen began to talk about explosives, Mina made the decision around 5 a.m. to blow open a wall to the bathroom. The explosives didn’t penetrate the wall completely, so an armored vehicle was used to punch a 2-by-3-foot hole. Dozens of people escaped, and Mateen was gunned down as he emerged through the hole, police said.
The Islamic State’s radio hailed the attack and called Mateen “one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America.” But it gave no indication the group planned or knew of the attack beforehand.
Counterterrorism experts have been warning in the past few years about the danger of so-called lone wolf attackers who act in sympathy with extremist groups like the Islamic State but are not directed by them.
Mateen’s father, Seddique Mir Mateen, told reporters that the massacre was “the act of a terrorist,” and added: “I apologize for what my son did. I am as sad and mad as you guys are.”
He wouldn’t go into details about any religious or political views his son held, saying he didn’t know. Asked whether he missed his son, he said: “I don’t miss anything about him. What he did was against humanity.”
___
Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington, Mike Schneider and Tamara Lush in Orlando and photographers Chris O’Meara in Orlando and Alan Diaz in Fort Pierce, Florida, contributed to this report.
93 responses to “Orlando killer appears to have been ‘homegrown extremist’”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Religious hatred of gays combined with easy access to assault weapons create the conditions that make the Orlando massacre possible.
You are beneath contempt.
Yes, that was a low blow.
You’re a sick puppy.
He should start with you.
“Mateen claimed he made the remarks in anger because co-workers were teasing him and discriminating against him as a Muslim, and the FBI eventually closed the case, Comey said.”
In other words when this Islamic fanatic claimed victimhood because of his religion, rather than risk offending Muslims (and thus the president), the FBI backed off. Members of the LGBT community are now awakening to the fact that because the current occupant of the White House refuses to carry out his oath to see that laws are faithfully executed, they and they alone are responsible for protecting themselves and would be well advised to take a strong public stand in defense of the Second Amendment as indeed now appears to be the case:. It is no accident that the price of publicly traded shares of both Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger shot up today.
Reuters) – Shares of U.S. firearm makers surged on Monday as renewed fears of tighter gun control after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history led to expectations of a spike in firearm sales
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp’s (SWHC.O) shares rose as much as 11.6 percent, while those of Sturm Ruger & Co Inc (RGR.N) jumped 10.7 percent.
Condolences to the victims and their families.
Anybody you knew?
What if there were?
Does that matter? DO you live in your own tiny world that you don’t care about others, even if you don’t know them? This could happen anywhere. Be grateful it wasn’t in your backyard.
FBI director is a mouth piece for Obama. Homegrown Extremism. Just admit Obama, they’re radical islamist terrorist!
“At the White House, President Barack Obama said there is no clear evidence so far that Mateen was directed by the Islamic State. He said Mateen was inspired by radical information over the internet, calling it another apparent example of “homegrown extremism.”
Obama can’t bring himself to utter the words “Muslim extremism” but continues to obfuscate the issue. Inspired by “radical information over the internet….” Sounds awfully like the same pathetic lie Obama and Hillary employed to explain the Benghazi attack as a reaction to an internet video. Whether or not the shooter had formal ties to Muslim terrorist organizations or was a lone wolf “inspired” to act on his own is irrelevant. The fact is the terrorist organizations and the shooter share one thing in common – their ideology which is Islam and its dictates. The Quran and the hadiths dictate that homosexuality is a capital offense punishable by death. Thus the shooter was simply acting on his Muslim beliefs which are the precipitating factor in his killings. Meanwhile, Obama is in denial and continues to make excuses.
Oh please stop already. The reason why right wing nuts and Chump fans are hug up over this is that there is a latent suspicion that the President is a Muslim or a Muslim sympathizer. Here are the facts – for all the talk and rants of the Chump, Obama’s body count of terrorist killed oversees exceeds the casualties at world Trade Center. While all you guys are ranting about words, the President’s deeds speak much louder. The dude has put the likes of Osama and leader of the Afghan Taliban, even Americans citizens working with ISIL into the ground. The terrorist and the shooter may in fact share a common ideology, but its not mainstream Islam. Its a perverted version of the religion. I for one do not believe that the Westboro Baptist Church or terrorist like Eric Rudolph, or groups like the KKK who are founded on Christianity represent Christianity at all. They are abominations to their own religions. The fact is throughout most of the world people of different religions get along. Don’t fall into the trap of painting an entire group of people because of the actions of a minority.
what a joke. it is estimated that ten percent of all muslims are radical. out of 1.3 billion muslims, that makes at least a hundred million who want to murder us. even if its only ten million or five million or even one million, that is no small number. you lefties can deny there’s a problem with muslims and Islam all you want. the fact is these people who want to kill us ARE muslims who follow Islam. are there millions of Christians or any other religion who believe in murdering those who don’t worship as they do? NO} how do you know its not mainstream Islam? sure, those here may not think that way. but there are millions of muslims in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iran, Syria, etc., who believe gays should be killed. yet our president wants to bring tens of thousands of these people to America. why? so according to Obama, guns are the problem yet the people who would use these guns to murder us are not a problem and we should bring in more of them. try rationalizing that. hypocrisy at the highest level.
hey cheese head, the KKK is not founded on Christianity. They hated Jews, Christians, and blacks.
The KKK killed fewer blacks in 80 plus years than blacks killing blacks in one year.
It behooves you to study the nature of Islam for yourself in order to get an accurate perspective. Mainstream Islam does advocate for jihad – not a perversion as you mistakenly claim. One of the primary tenets of Islam is the phrase: “enjoin the good, forbid the evil” which is binding and obligatory upon all Muslims. In other words, every single Muslim is to uphold and spread Sharia law – either through willful means or unwillful means including the use of physical force. This is incumbent upon each Muslim individual which is precisely why Muslim terrorists organizations in the Middle East consistently call upon Muslim individuals living in Western countries to jihad and the enforcement of Sharia. Even if there is no formal terrorist connection, the shooter in this instance simply lived up to what he is required to do under mainstream Islam – not “radical” Islam.
Those of the Christian faith on the other hand, are bound to live by the 10 Commandments which those you cited obviously do not do. They cannot claim to be Christians because the “fruit” of their lives do not align with Christian belief/teaching. Moreover, unlike Muslims, Christians are not required to subjugate people and impose through violence if necessary, their religious beliefs.
BlueEyedDevil – the KKK was founded on protestant Christianity and their stated goal was to reestablish protestant christian values to the US. Remember that famous KKK mantra – “Jesus was the first klansman”.
tsboy, where did you get the statistic that 10% of all Muslims are “radicals”?
Blue eyes, not exactly true, the KKK does align itself with Christianity. Here is a link from their website.
http://kkk.bz/?page_id=1760
More pertinent, does Christianity align itself with the KKK?
BlueEyedWhiteDevil – I really feel sorry for you. Of course the KKK was founded around Christianity. Only Christians were allowed to be members. It’s still that way.
Their central symbol of power is the cross lighting. What do you think that stands for.
Are you just incapable of learning anything? Imbecile.
It really is Home grown. He was brain washed oh the internet.
“there is a latent suspicion that the President is a Muslim or a Muslim sympathizer.”
Got a news flash for you, Buckwheat: it ain’t latent any more.
Obama professed he is a Christian, however his Father was a Muslim. There is nothing wrong with being sympathetic to one’s Father’s religion. The Muslim faith does not have a monopoly kooks. The attacks on the planned parenthood establishment and medical staff indicate Christians are faced with the same ideologues.
Once a Muslim always a Muslim. Obama’s grandparents were Communists.
And at one one point in time, your ancestors were pagans, does that make you a pagan–which is ridiculous uneducated analogy?!!
Most people who have not donned blinders have come to the obvious common sense conclusion that while not every Muslim is a terrorist, ever since the uninterrupted eight year green light flashed to the terrorists by Slick Willy (whose most frequent W/H guest was the terrorist Yassar Arafat and which led directly to 9/11) almost every terrorist has been Muslim.
Bush promised he would not falter or fail to prevent another terror attack on our homeland and for the next 88 consecutive months he kept his promise. Back then the FBI was successful in short circuiting a number of intended Muslim terrorist attacks by conducting sting operations on suspicious mosques. Bush’s successor wasted no time instructing the FBI to back off so as not to offend his Muslim pets and the results are plain as day: Little Rock, Fort Hood, Detroit, Times Square, Boston, San Bernadino, and now Orlando. The culpability for this wave of massacres lies at the feet of the current occupant of the White House. This puts Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton in a delicate place.
You do know he (the FBI Director) is a Republican…effete pillock simp.
What difference does it make? Nobody said he was a Democrat.
The is a really sad crowd. Proud to know absolutely nothing.
Glad to see you as part of the crowd clueless one.
“Proud to know absolutely nothing.”
As you have amply demonstrated on so MANY occasions.
The younger generation is producing a lot of mass murderers. Time to go hard after family and friends that knew. Tougher laws, better investigations, civil lawsuits and of course, mandatory deportations.
Careful.
Much more of that common sense and you’ll be branded a Trump supporter.
Mass murderers=access to guns. Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, San Bernadino and Orlando perfect example. If the had a bat or knife, these cowards would be overpowered and beatened.
Your premise implies that such cowards would be overcome (since they only possessed a bat/knife instead of a gun) and victims therefore stand a better chance of defending themselves. By the same token, victims would be able to better defend themselves if they were allowed to access and carry their own sidearms.
Taking out the bat or knife piece, how do you address the access to gun piece?
Unsure if I understand your question. If you mean the bad guys getting access to guns – they will always find a way to access weapons since they have no regard for the law in the first place. Gun restrictions don’t stop them so further attempts to restrict access to guns by passing more legislation only affects law-abiding citizens. The examples cited by nanakuliboss were all “soft targets” where the victims stood little chance of defending themselves.
Ok, so I get your argument. But, let me ask you this, of all of the mass shootings we have seen recently, how many have been stopped by an armed citizen? How many regular murders are stopped by armed citizens?
I ask you, have you ever been in a position to stop this type of event?
As I pointed out, all of these attacks were soft targets meaning that these were gun-free zones where people are prohibited from carrying guns such as schools, colleges, work places etc. These are the targets of choice for terrorists as they know that no one will stop them since everyone else is unarmed. So the answer to your question is zero mass murders stopped by citizens because no one was allowed to carry a weapon to defend themselves in the first place!
Furthermore, there are instances on a regular basis where citizens have protected themselves from harm when they have armed themselves and prevented home intrusions, robberies, bodily harm to themselves. You don’t have to wait for the police or someone else to help you when you arm yourself either by keeping a weapon at home or carrying a weapon in those jurisdictions that allow it.
I have not stopped a person armed with a gun but I have stopped a person armed with a knife who attacked a woman during my younger days.
D, without doing research, I can’t agree or deny your claim regarding the targets of these guys being “soft” or not. The question then becomes, do we allow people to carry everywhere? Do you think that is a good idea? Let’s take the nightclub for example, don’t you think that there would be more problems with drunk folks in all of the bars in the US, than these cases?
Sort of unrelated but did you stop the guy with the knife using a gun or by other means?
Per wikipedia: A “soft target” is “a person or thing that is relatively unprotected or vulnerable, especially to military or terrorist attack.”
Since persons are prohibited in carrying guns in certain places as I referenced earlier, these places become soft targets since they are unprotected and vulnerable. The unfortunate victims are left with very limited options to defend themselves so terrorists deliberately target such places. As for guns being being allowed in bars/nightclubs, I personally don’t think that it’s a good idea since guns and liquor are not a good match. I did not have a gun with my encounter with the guy with the knife. I saw the assailant stabbing a woman in public and all I could think of at the time was to grab his arm/hand so he couldn’t stab her anymore.
of all of the mass shootings we have seen recently, how many have been stopped by an armed citizen?
You might want to check out page 10 of every monthly issue of “American Rifleman” in which is featured the column titled “The Armed Citizen”. It contains news articles from all over the nation.
so what’s your remedy? get rid of all guns? all these guns were bought legally. at least half of all legal gun owners will never willfully give up their guns. you going to have the federal government murder millions of Americans who don’t turn in their guns? that is tyranny and that is why the constitution says we can own guns. to protect the citizen from a government that wants to suppress its own people.
” LARGEST MASS SHOOTING IN US HISTORY HAPPENED December 29,1890. When 297 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota were murdered by federal agents & members of the 7th Cavalry who had come to confiscate their firearms “for their own safety and protection”. The slaughter began after the majority of the Sioux had peacefully turned in their firearms. The Calvary began shooting, and managed to wipe out the entire camp. 200 of the 297 victims were women and children.
Wounded Knee was among the first federally backed gun confiscation attempts in United States history. It ended in the senseless murder of 297 people.
The Second Amendment, the right of the people to take up arms in defense of themselves, their families, and property in the face of invading armies or an oppressive government. The Second Amendment was written by people who fled oppressive and tyrannical regimes in Europe, and it refers to the right of American citizens to be armed for defensive purposes, should such tyranny arise in the United States.
Wounded Knee is the prime example of why the Second Amendment exists, and why we should vehemently resist any attempts to infringe on our Rights to Bear Arms. Without the Second Amendment we will be totally stripped of any ability to defend ourselves and our families.”
So you think that you could resist if the government really turned against the electorate with the military?
You’d last about 30 seconds. You don’t think.
If you stand for nothing, then you’ll fall for anything, or you’re a lawyer..
Spot on. The clueless name calling lawyer loses another case.
First, klas. My apologies. Out of character response insulting the legal profession. I do believe there are some things worth dying for, but until our convictions are actually tested, we don’t truly know their depth.
Sarge, please don’t mark me as a fellow Trumpian. I respect your right to choose, but he isn’t my type, or, in my opinion, America’s either. Consider seriously what Johnson brings to the table.
hawaiikone,no thanks. Previously backed Ron Paul and you see what the establishment did to him. I think Trump has a good chance of beating them so I’ll take my chances. Hillary and the Clintons have to be stopped. A vote for Johnson is a wasted vote but makes folks feel good. Trump 2016
Suppose you’re right and we got rid of every gun and didn’t sell anymore. Those guns taken away would be from lawful citizens because criminals aren’t going to give theirs up. Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are 11.4 million illegal immigrants here. A lot of them came across the southern border undetected. Terror groups aren’t blind or stupid, so what if they sent militants with fully automatic weapons across our border, some would make it. How much havoc do you think they raise against a soft target knowing that probably no one would be armed until law enforcement arrived. So to your point Terrorist = access to guns.
Except most of the guns originally came from the US.
What are you talking about?
The US is the largest exporter of guns in the world. For example, where do you think the Mexican Cartels get most of their guns? Where did the Sandinistas get theirs?
Operation Fast and Furious, the largest “gunwalking” probe, the ATF monitored the sale of about 2,000[1]:203[15] firearms, of which only 710 were recovered as of February 2012.[1]:203 A number of straw purchasers have been arrested and indicted; however, as of October 2011, none of the targeted high-level cartel figures had been arrested.[6]
Do you blame spoons and forks for making people obese?
Spoons and forks don’t make other people obese.
Guns make other people dead.
Have you had some kind of head injury?
You don’t blame spoons and forks for a person being obese because that’s their personal decision. Let’s pick a different example. Do you blame cars when a person drives drunk and kills another person?
etalavera – Cars aren’t designed specifically and solely to kill people. Guns are. If you write something about hunting, then you don’t know how to debate or you don’t know what guns were involved with this incident.
Cars have a much broader purpose. Namely transportation. Not killing people. A lot of effort is put into making sure they don’t kill people.
Try again?
Guns make other people dead.
Guns are inanimate. Killers make other people dead and they are not restricted to guns to achieve that objective.
Guns schmuns.
Ever hear of gasoline, Sport?
There are probably many more “homegrown extremists” in the USA. They are just waiting to do the same thing as in Orlando. Gay night clubs
appear to be an easy soft target. I bet a lot of gay blades will get the message now to STAY HOME. No, they will just pack a gun instead!
Gay blades? Imbecile.
Why are you such a hater?
He was raised in the bush by feral pigs, that’s why.
If he had had a proper upbringing he would have been introduced to concepts of manners and respect.
I don’t understand how a person can be grilled by the Feds twice on suspected terrorist leanings and they are still able to buy several guns in a matter of a few days.
Ask Hawaiikone, or Talin2, or Deltadag
Why? Unable to produce any cognizant thoughts?
Because the FBI has been put on short leash by the current occupant of the White House in all matters dealing with his Muslim pets. They were PREVENTED from following up, lest someone claim to be “offended”.
Instead of: “How could one person shoot over 100 people?” shouldn’t we be asking… “Why 100 people were NOT shooting 1 radical Islamic terrorist?”
After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn’t do it.
“Why 100 people were NOT shooting 1 radical Islamic terrorist?” The body count would be significantly higher in your scenario. Yes the terrorist would probably have been taken out, however the collateral damage would be unimaginable.
You sure about that? I mean the though to 100 people who had been drinking and partying all night suddenly pulling out their guns and firing off a few rounds, heck for all you know they could have all missed the bad guy!
ah yes. better to lie there and be killed like a dog. maybe you would like to look like swiss cheese, cheeseball, but not the rest of us. one armed citizen could have ended this massacre. but apparently, liberal lefties rather have political correctness rather than safety for its citizens.
tsboy – Liberal lefties? Are you stuck in 1980 or something?
Well, one armed citizen didn’t end this tragedy. There was a uniformed police officer in the club who immediately engaged the gunman.
What are you talking about? You think this is TV or a video game? It’s real combat.
By the way … you apparently have no idea what political correctness is.
You said it, “shooting spree.” If the guns weren’t out there how could there be a shooting spree?
If you define a “spree” as having the possibility of return fire, then we agree. What you’re advocating for is more of a shooting gallery..
Ok, so how many times have you stopped or been in a position to stop a mass shooting, or any shooting for that matter? How many times have you used a weapon in self defense? How many of these shooters were stopped by citizens? And let me ask this, are you in favor of all of us driving tanks around? Less chance we’re going to be killed in a car crash, right?
What relevance does my personal history have to this issue? I own weapons, and I’m proficient in their use, as both a matter of responsibility and necessity. Since living in Hawaii precludes my carrying any, the potential of my interfering in a “mass murder” event remains solely as a victim, and Hawaii’s temperment limits the probability regardless. You have asked this style of question before, and your intent remains unknown. Mass murderers have selected targets for a reason, and minimizing resistance is one of them. Fearful individuals actually believe banning all guns will stop the violence, but history is repleat with examples of hate, and until we seriously find ways to curb it, violence will continue.
My point is that “insurance” is always the claim of the guns everywhere folks, yet only a tiny minority have ever had that opportunity. So, the risk outweighs the reward. Is it smart to let drunk bar patrons carry weapons? I didn’t read this, but Klastri mentioned that there was an armed security guard who did engage the killer, and he didn’t stop him.
I wonder if you’ve ever researched the statistics on defensive use of weapons? Widely varying numbers, but impressive nonetheless. Believe me, I would not want the responsibility, especially at my age, of walking around armed. But with an ever increasing amount of unrecoverable guns in the hands of criminals prepared to use them, the idea of taking away the guns of legitimate owners makes no sense. I’m far from a NRA fanboy, but I do think it’s important for us to remember the intent of the 2nd before we make any decisions restricting it. I’ve stated before my support of more stringent background checks, despite the fears of creating “databases”. And having 100 armed drunks in any bar is ridiculous, but in light of the days we’re living in, perhaps having several well trained and armed undercover security personnel on hand may be a better defensive approach. Regardless, lamenting the risk isn’t the result of extensive gun ownership, but more a direct effect of negative societal change.
Hawaiikone, I’ve sort of researched the armed defense thing, the NRA site, for example lists, a bunch, but without going back now, accidental deaths, including those of children, far outweigh the incidents of defense.
This guy here, he bought the guns legally, then committed the act, so I would think that in and of itself should show that we better take a harder look at our practices. Maybe you are right that a trained private security force might be an option.
Agreed in intent, although I’d suggest you refresh your research regarding the amount of DGU’s vs. the amount of accidental gun deaths. One positive take away seems to be once we’re able flesh out our thoughts somewhat we often find we weren’t that far apart to begin with..
advertiser1 says: I’ve sort of researched the armed defense thing, the NRA site, for example lists, a bunch, but without going back now, accidental deaths, including those of children, far outweigh the incidents of defense.
For one who has “Advertiser” in his/her handle, this looks like sloppy reporting.
>> “sort of researched”???
>> “without going back now, accidental deaths… far outweigh the incidents of defense”
Opinion first, facts second (if at all), eh?
No wonder public trust in the so called journalism profession (along with sales) has plummeted.
https://nypost.com/2016/06/12/obama-says-we-are-to-blame-not-islamic-terrorism-for-orlando-massacre/?ref=yfp
And Mr. Trump, in all his ignorant glory, thinks this murderer is an “Afghan.”
He seems to actually get less fit for office every day.
Thankfully, he’s going to lose in a landslide. None of the racists supporting here will matter.
Since Trump is doing a bang up job of self destructing, it remains up to the sane voters still left to convince Hillary aficionados that casting in her favor is similarly self destructing. Consider Gary Johnson. Really. No other election cycle has ever offered such opportune for a positive direction change.
Further proof Hillary fueled rise of ISIS
(Infowars) – Hillary Clinton’s State Dept. shut down an investigation into the mosque Orlando killer Omar Mir Siddique Mateen attended because it “unfairly singled out Muslims.”
The Fort Pierce Islamic Center, where Mateen worshipped several times a week, was under investigation by both the FBI and DHS as early as 2011 for ties to a worldwide Islamic movement known as Tablighi Jamaal which was linked to several terrorist organizations.
But the investigation was shut down under pressure from the Clinton-ran State Dept. and DHS’s Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Office out of fear of offending Muslims, according to recently retired DHS agent Philip Haney.
The State Department shut down an FBI / DHS terrorism investigation? Of course. That makes about as much sense as anything else you write.
You certainly do your research!
He who laughs last laughs best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMZqS7q7voY
Trump Truth really gets under your skin, doesn’t it.
One can but marvel at the prospect of what vein popping apoplexy awaits you when you read the words “President-Elect Trump” above the fold, on the front page of this or that daily bugle that you peruse.
Better stock up on Chlorpromazine (aka Thorazine).
A century before GOP front runner Donald Trump called for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the United States, Winston Churchill diagnosed the dangers of radical Islam.